IV
105TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION
S. RES. 294
Expressing the sense of the Senate with respect to developments in Malaysia and the arrest of Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
OCTOBER 9, 1998 Mr. THOMAS (for himself, Mr. KERRY, Mr. SMITH of Oregon, Mr. LIEBERMAN, and Mr. GRAMS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Senate with respect to developments in Malaysia and the arrest of Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Whereas on September 2, 1998, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad dismissed Deputy Prime Minister Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim; Whereas, over the past year, Dato Seri Anwar has advocated adopting meaningful economic structural reforms to combat an increasingly deteriorating economy—a view which runs counter to those of Dr. Mahathir; Whereas, after being dismissed, Dato Seri Anwar began touring the country and publicly criticizing Dr. Mahathir and the policies of the ruling United Malays National Organization Baru (UMNO) party;
2 Whereas in apparent reaction to this criticism Dato Seri Anwar was arrested on September 20, 1998, and held under the provisions of the Malaysian Internal Security Act (ISA); Whereas the ISA removes arrested individuals from the protections afforded criminal defendants under Malaysia’s constitution and statutes, and consequently Dato Seri Anwar was held in an undisclosed location without any formal charges being lodged against him; Whereas on September 29, 1998, Dato Seri Anwar was formally charged with nine counts of corruption and sexual misconduct, including four sodomy counts, to which another count was later added: Whereas the vague nature of the charges, as well as the fact that two of the government’s ‘‘witnesses’’ have already recanted, could reasonably lead to a conclusion that the charges were manufactured by the government for maximum shock value to discredit Dato Seri Anwar and silence him; Whereas, when Dato Seri Anwar appeared at his arraignment, he had been beaten by police while in custody; and told the judge that on his first night of detention, while handcuffed and blindfolded, that he was ‘‘boxed very hard on my head and lower jaw and left eye . . . I was then slapped very hard, left and right, until blood came out from my nose and my lips cracked. Because of this I could not walk or see properly’’; Whereas, to substantiate his claims, Dato Seri Anwar showed the court a large bruise on his arm; his swollen black eye was evident to everyone in the courtroom;
SRES 294 IS
3 Whereas Dr. Mahathir suggested that Dato Seri Anwar inflicted the injuries to himself in order to gain public sympathy; Whereas since its independence Malaysia has been transformed from a divided multiracial developing nation into a modern, cosmopolitan, economically sophisticated country; and Whereas the Government’s actions in case of Dato Seri Anwar seriously damage the reputation of Malaysia in the eyes of rest of the world: Now, therefore, be it 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that— (1) the Malaysian Government should take every step to safeguard the rights of Dato Seri Anwar, ensure that any charges brought against him are not spurious, afford him a fair and open trial, and fully investigate and prosecute those responsible for his mistreatment while in detention; and (2) all Malaysians should be permitted to express their political views in a peaceful and orderly fashion without fear of arrest or intimidation.
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SRES 294 IS

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